The
Little Pear Girl
Once upon a time, a peasant worked
hard to make a living from his land. Every year his pear tree produced for
basketfuls of fruit which had to be given to the king, a greedy ruler who grew
rich at the expense of the poor.
One year, part of the pear harvest
went bad and the peasant was able to pick only three and a half baskets of
fruit. The poor man was beside himself with fear for the king, if the peasant
don’t give the four basketfulls of pear, the peasant will be cruelly punish.
Because the king refused to take less than four basketfulls.
All he could do was put his youngest
daughter into one of the baskets and cover her with a layer of pears, so that
the baskets looked full. The king’s servant took away the four baskets without
ever noticing the trick, and the little girl found herself all alone in the
pantry, under the pears.
One day, the cook went into the
pantry and the discovered her. Nobody could understand where on earth she had
come from. Not knowing what to do with her, it was decided she should become a
maid in the castle. Folk called her Violetta, for her eyes reminded them of the
color of violets.
Violetta who hide in the basket was a
preety ,but seriously she was the most beauty, sweet, and generous girl in the
kingdom palace. One day, as she was watering the flowers, in the royal gardens,
she met the king’s son, a youth of her own age, and the two become friends. The
other maids, jealous of Violetta’s beauty and of the affaction many people in
the castle felt for the girl, did everything they could to get her into
trouble, by spreading nasty rumors about
her. One day, the king sent for her and said severely, “I’m told you boast of
being able to steal the witches treasure trove. Is that true?”
Violetta said, “No.” But the King
refused to believe her and drove her out of his kingdom.
“You may return only when you have
laid hands on the treasure,” He said. All Violetta’s foundest friends,
including the prince, were sorry to hear of the King’s decition, but could do
nothing to stop her going. The girl wandered through the forest and, when she
came to a pear tree, she climbed into it’s barnches and fall asleep. She was
wakened at dawn by an old woman calling her, “ What are you doing up there, all
by yourself?” Violetta told the old woman her tale. She offered to help the
little girl, give her some round loaves, a broom, a little oil, and some good
advice, and the girl again sat off. She reached a clearing with a large wood
stove and saw three woman tearing their hair, using it to sweep the ashes from
the stove.Violetta offered them the broom and the woman pointed out the way to
the witches palace.
Suddenly, two hungry tigers blocked
her path. Violetta threw them the loaves, the tigers ate them and let her pass.
Then she came to the bank of a river in flood, but remembering the old woman’s
advice, she sang, “Clear sparkling river, let me cross over,” and the minute
her song wafted into the air, the water stopped flowing.
The witches palace where Violetta
try to find was very creepy. The door was unlocked, but Violetta could not push it open for the hinges were rusted. So
she rubbed on a little oil and the swung open. The little girl walked through
the empty halls till she came to a splendid room in which lay a magnificent
coffer full of jewels. Holding the coffer under her arm, Violetta made for the
door, but the coffer, being enchanted, cried out, “ Door! Don’t let her out!”
however, the door did open, for Violetta had oiled the hinges. Down at the
river, the coffer cried out. This time it said “Water! Drown her!” but the
river did not stop the little girl from crossing; the two tigers did not attack
and the three strange woman did not burn her in their stove. For each, in it’s
own way, repaid the girl courtesy.
Back at the King’s palace again, the
prince ran happily to meet Violetta, telling her, “ When my father askes you
what you want as a reward, ask him for the basket of pears in the pantry!” and
this Violetta did. Pleased as paying such a modest price, the king instantly
ordered the humble basket to be brought. But nobody ever imagined for a minute
that underneath the pears lay the price. The young man came out of his hiding
place, swore has in love with Violetta and that he wanted to marry her.
In this way, the king was forced to
give his consent. Violetta brought her family to court and they all began a new
and happy life.